Review of American Animals (2018) by Pleasebeegood — 20 Jul 2018

I'm a big fan of heist films. "American Animals" was an especially ambitious heist film that attempted to blur fiction/non-fiction lines and occasionally employ surrealistic elements. It was mostly well-acted, reasonably well-written, and directed with great care.

Yet, somehow it came up a bit short for me. Ultimately, I don't believe the filmmaker was able to execute his ambitious vision for the film. Using the real-life characters to share in the narrative responsibilities was fantastic at times: it was often funny, clever, and informative.

Maybe there were times when it felt too clever and too informative; maybe cutting back and forth undermined the continuity of the drama being constructed. I'm not sure. But it made me very much aware that I was watching a movie.

I could never truly got lost in the story. On a different note, I agree with others that the pacing got awkward in the last third of the film. Tension would build up, resolve, and then fail to deliver.

There were genuinely suspenseful moments that didn't lead anywhere. At times, the film seemed to have plateaued. There were at least two points when I believed the film was over. It was just tough to know what the director wanted the audience to experience.

When the film finally did end, I was left wondering why. In all, it was a decent piece of filmmaking that wasn't especially powerful or fun for me. Maybe I just missed the whole damn point. But if I'm gonna trust the director to take me on a joy ride, I need him to deliver a little bit more joy along the way.